Explanation: The centre
of our Milky Way Galaxy
is hidden
from the prying eyes of optical telescopes by clouds of
obscuring dust and gas.
But in this stunning vista,
the Spitzer Space Telescope's
infrared cameras, penetrate
much of the dust revealing
the stars of the crowded galactic centre region.
A mosaic of many smaller snapshots, the detailed,
false-colour image shows
older, cool stars in bluish hues.
Reddish glowing dust clouds are associated with
young, hot stars in stellar nurseries.
The galactic centre
lies some 26,000 light-years away, toward the constellation
Sagittarius.
At that distance, this picture spans about 900 light-years.